It’s always difficult to know why something becomes an institution. It’s a lot easier to tell when something has become one. The Melbourne International Film Festival, the Fringe Festival, the Comedy Festival. Each has managed, over time, to attract a reputation, a list of fans and has left a cultural legacy that enlivens the city. Now in its fifth year the Melbourne Stencil Festival is an institution every bit as significant and vibrant as these more established events.

In stencil terms Melbourne has a lot to live up to. Famously identified as the ‘stencil capital of the world’ Melbourne has a strong history of stencil and street art. Fortunately, despite the introduction of some spectacularly regressive anti-graffiti laws, Melbourne remains right at the creative centre of the street art scene. It’s this richness that makes Melbourne unique and which acted as a catalyst to the introduction of the festival.

This years’ event is being held in the Yarra Sculpture Gallery in Abbotsford. It’s a great space and a perfect venue. Visitors to the festival don’t just look at the art; they are actually given the opportunity to get involved. There are graffiti tours of some of Fitzroy’s finest artistic hot spots, lessons from some of the best on how to cut stencils and (by all accounts) a special opening night. But there’s more than that. There is also a community of fantastically talented people from all around the world who have gathered in a very small place to show and talk art: with each other, with passers-by, with anybody and everybody. It’s the accessibility and approachability of the artists that makes the festival so special.

Of course, being friendly will only take you so far. Fortunately the list of artists and the works on show are as good a collection as I have seen in Australia.

What is most striking is the sheer diversity of the images. Amongst the most confronting are those of A1one (left). I don’t know about you, but when I think of Iran, ‘street art’ isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. However, based in Tehran, A1one is trying to re-shape an artistic community that he says remains fiercely conservative.

His work explores both Islamic and Western images. Fusing stencils and text, his work is staunchly political. When asked about the images A1one states simply that “in Iran everything is political”. A1one’s work takes this on board but is not an attempt to advocate for any other social or governmental system. His work is about ordinary people; people he feels are invariably sold out by the State. In his words “I hate all government”. It’s a powerful and a startlingly simple message. A1one’s work is still available at the festival, or you can check it out here: www.kolahstudio.com.

In contrast, John Koleszar’s images are deliberately not political and are influenced by the work of Logan Hicks. “For me art’s a form of therapy,” he says. “I’m happy to sit down and talk politics with anyone… but I don’t want to bring it to my art”. Rather than work outdoors, Koleszar (left) spends his time in a studio in Arizona, United States, a state where street-level art can land you in jail. “I’m waiting for the day when stencil art is accepted as a serious art form and exhibited in museums and galleries,” he says.

Koleszar’s impressive technical ability seems, to me, likely to bring that day a little closer. The level of detail involved in his stencils is amazing; all the more so when you realise that every image can take several months to prepare and each is cut by hand. The hand cut, while arduous, appears to give a softness to the lines and the image that is often lacking in machine cut images. That combined with the tones employed make for some truly stunning results. Koleszar’s work is available at the festival or you can check it out through his blog: www.koleszar.blogspot.com.

Another striking, albeit very different, image is the work of Rachael Miller (right). Miller has been a long time participant in the festival and a long term member of Melbourne’s stencil community. She comes from a visual art and print-making background but, finding herself short on sculpture space, plunged into the world of stencils after leaving university. She is passionate about both the festival and the scene more generally. “It’s a way to connect everybody; old and young,” she says. “Many of the kids at the school where I teach art have in the past been into tagging and I’ve tried to direct them into street and stencil stuff. They love it.”

Miller’s own work is decorative rather than political. Unfortunately she only has one work in the exhibition but the simple clear lines and charm that she conveys through it make it one of the most memorable pieces in the show. If you’re interested in her work, Rachael can be contacted by email.

Finally, another Melbourne stencil artist that caught my eye is Michael Pablo (left). Michael was originally born in the United States but has been visiting Melbourne since 1992 and has lived here for the several years. He works with both paint and fabric (designing and printing t-shirts) and has developed a distinctive graphic style that is well suited to stencil art.

As a street artist, Pablo is both excited by and wary of the success of the scene. He warns that the scene needs to “ventilate” and is critical of the reliance of some street artists upon “shock” to make their point. “There’s a lot of hype,” he suggests, “the whole world’s being dumbed down. It’s easy to think of something that will shock, but it’s a lot harder to actually think of something that will engage people and make them think.”

The criticism is a familiar one but it seems to me to be less of a concern here.  As I’m talking to Rachael Miller after the interview I mention Ikea and she smiles. “That’s why I was a bit hesitant when you asked me where the scene was going,” she says. “Maybe some of the images and artists will be selling prints in Ikea in thirty years’ time.”

Maybe. However, I think that if this happens then the Melbourne Stencil Festival will play an important role in nurturing an anti-Ikea backlash.  What struck me about the exhibition was how different it was. There weren’t any Banksy or Shepherd Fairey or Faile clones. Each artist here is busy creating something new and something different: from Iran to Arizona to Melbourne. The Melbourne Stencil Festival continues to draw people and artists because it is genuinely refreshing and diverse. It’s become an institution not through gimmicks but by providing people with some of the best stencil art and the best stencil artists going around.

The Melbourne Stencil Festival runs from August 1 – 10 at the Yarra Sculpture Gallery in Abbotsford – click here for the full program.

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Photos courtesy of Al Wilson.